: Hey Justin,

: In process pick of my Sea Bee Frame attached. I haven't taken any
: real detail shots, and unfortunately skinned it today, so I
: can't take them now. I'd be happy to give the few bits of advice
: I can.

: I built mine out of Baltic Birch ply, and Fir, both of which are
: not spec'd by Tom Yost. I went with the Baltic Birch because I
: had a chunk sitting around gathering dust, and I used the fir
: because I found two 2x6x12 that where clear and straight for $7
: each versus 1x6x8 clear pine or cedar for $15 each.

: I used cedar on my first boat. It's very light, soft and flexible.
: It dents very easily, and when I stretched the nylon skin it
: actually pulled the curve out of the gunwhales, so that they are
: a series of straight sections turning at the cross sections. It
: hasn't screwed with the performance, just the visual lines a
: little bit.

: I really liked the fir. It's harder then cedar, and heavier, and
: takes a tiny bit more effort to bend. You can make up for the
: weight a bit by ripping it to 5/8" because it's stronger.

: For the baltic birch I didn't epoxy it. I just slapped two coats of
: spar varnish on. I asked around, and most people don't see the
: point in epoxying plywood made with water proof glue that isn't
: going to get submerged for long periods.

: In terms of glueing vs lashing. I glued and pegged my first boat
: per Tom's instructions. My second boat I glued and used brass
: screws. I really can't see pegging giving you anything that
: screws wouldn't. the reality is that the skin itself gives so
: much pressure that it holds the frame together when stretched
: properly. There are people on here who actually advocate on
: lashing with no glue. They says it's plenty strong, and allows
: for easy fixes and changes as you go.

: I did alot of research and questioning on skins. Unless you're
: building a folder, or want a clear skin do not use the vinyl.
: Alot of people advocate polyester. I choose the ballistic nylon
: route, because it's a bit more durable, and alot of my kayaking
: areas are wide rivers with rocky bottoms that I scrape
: sometimes. If you wet nylon it, and sew it on you can get alot
: of stretch out of it. I read some people having difficulties,
: but I really had none. I found it very easy to sew and stretch.

: To seal the skin I went cheap, and used spar varnish. My
: application looked like ass. After three coats it looked like
: blotchy onion skin that my dogs had peed on. I slapped on three
: more coats of an industrial elastomeric called Jaxsan. Ahh...
: crisp white. I'm going to try tinted varnish on the Sea Bee, and
: apply it with rag. If it looks like ass again I'll make it
: white.

Thank you so much! this is a ton of help. that answered nearly all my questions. my only question left is what were the finished dimensions of all your stringers (gunwales, chines, keel, etc) just height and width, not length. i would like to get that factored into the cad drawings I'm doing so i can get it cut on the CNC. also, how did you orient the chines? vertical or horizontal? i view of the chines from inside might help answer that question for me. thanks again for the write up and the picture, that helped quite a bit!

Justin